The highest batholith on earth (a large intrusive mass of igneous rock) is located in Argentina. It is the highest point of South America and the hemispheres of the southern and western.
Where is Mount Aconcagua located? Why is she called that? Everything related to this natural miracle will be briefly described in this article.
General information: origin, location
The array arose during the collision of two tectonic plates: South American and Nazca.
The mountain is located in the Main Cordillera (in the center of the Andes - High Andes). The massif is bounded in the north and east by the Valle de las Vacas mountain range, and in the west and south - by the Valle de los Orcones Inferior.
There are many glaciers on the mountain, the largest of them are located on the eastern and northeastern (Polish glacier) parts of it.
The location of the mountain is the territory of Aconcagua National Park. 32.65 degrees south latitude and 70.02 west longitude, respectively, are the coordinates of Mount Aconcagua.
Midwest Argentina is the location of a mountain surrounded by several neighboring, no less interesting, mountain peaks. All of them attract the attention of many climbers and tourists (more than 10, 000 per year).
Description of the surroundings
Steep mountains with a small amount of greenery surround the gorge leading to the famous national park, and then to the Chilean border. At the entrance to the park you can still see some vegetation, but there is practically no further. In this regard, it may seem that the landscapes here are quite boring. However, the fantastic gorgeous colors of the surrounding peaks fully compensate for the lack of greenery (trees, flowers and other vegetation).
Mountain slopes have a wide variety of colors: red, gold and even green. It all looks amazingly beautiful.
The height of Mount Aconcagua is 6962 m. For climbers, this mountain is considered technically relatively light, especially its northern slopes. In any case, the influence of altitude is almost everywhere noticeable, since at the very top, atmospheric pressure is about 40% of the pressure at sea level.
In 1991, the minimum travel time was recorded - 5 hours 45 minutes.
Name origin
There is no exact origin of the name of the mountain. It is believed that it arose from the Araucan language (translated “from the other side of the Aconcagua River”). Another version is the origin of the Quechua name Ackon Cahuak, which means “stone guard”.
What attracts tourists to Mount Aconcagua?
All lovers of romance, nature, mountains and travel will find here activities to their liking. Ordinary tourists can go on an interesting day trip (trekking), and professional climbers can try to climb the more difficult Southern slopes of Aconcagua on any of the many routes.
Aconcagua is part of the Seven Peaks program (these are the highest points on all continents).
Climbing the classic route to the summit is easy even for lay climbers. It is enough for climbing and other beautiful neighboring peaks, which are also interesting.
The magnificent surrounding nature will be interesting for people who are not very interested in mountaineering.
Climatic conditions
Mount Aconcagua is the highest peak, so the weather is often bad here. Cloudiness is often observed. It should be noted that a sharp and frequent change of weather is characteristic of these places. A clear sunny day at any moment can turn into a very windy and unpleasantly cloudy.
The most terrible moment and the phenomenon that enjoys bad fame in these places is Viento Blanco (white wind). This rather terrible phenomenon is usually preceded by the appearance of clouds (loose, like cotton wool, and constantly changing shape) above the highest peaks. This means that soon a terrible storm may break out with a strong wind and an unexpected significant drop in temperature. Immediately after the storm, as a rule, there is heavy snowfall. Such cataclysms usually come from the western direction.
Another of the most common weather options is a clear day with cool, clean air, but with strong winds. Such weather is the most stable, therefore it is the most successful for climbing the peaks.
Mount Aconcagua can also please you with warm, sunny, good weather conditions, which usually last for a long time. How lucky.
